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Paper Dolls: Atlanta's
"Reckless Angels" Move On
I had been staring a hole through her for a good half-hour as she stood six feet away from
me in the Harvest Moon Saloon and sang. I couldn't believe what I had heard, that this
talented, attractive, respected musician was a gay woman. My heart pounded as I pondered
the possibility. I was 21 years old. It was 1980. The singer was DeDe Vogt.
As she left the stage, she stared back at me in a mimicking way and stopped by my table to
ask, "Didn't your mother tell you it's not nice to stare?" I blushed and babbled something
about wanting to know where she bought her clothes. She sat down next to me and we talked
for a while. And that's how I got to know DeDe Vogt.
For the next eight years, I closely followed her tracks through Atlanta music with devotion
and pride; followed the groups Pretty Good for Girls, the Fabulous Scallion Sisters, and the
Paper Dolls; followed as DeDe matured from a naive folk singer into a socially conscious
rocker, followed as I identified myself through the music she made possible.
The final performance of the Paper Dolls on Sept 5 at the Little Five Points Pub was in
many ways for many people, the end of an era. It was a performance filled with sadness and
memories for me. I have spent hours in the presence of DeDe Vogt Anne MacDonald, Cindy
Diamond, and their musical associates Carolyn Bennett Missy Speert, Tammy Hunt Fonda
Feingold, Angela Motter, and others. "Being there" when these women made music was an
Atlanta ritual of personal, social and political consequence; an initiation for novice lesbians; an
affirmation for long-time followers. Seeing them onstage was more than an inspiration, it was
a source of outrageous personal and communal pride, it was a ray of hope for acceptance and
equality.
All musicians are risk-takers in the realm of performance, and it is up to the individual to
decide how much risk is necessary. For me, the excitement of watching the Paper Dolls
perform was spiced with the slightest sense of danger and disbelief. I had this fear that at any
moment some man would come along and say, "Hey, you can't do that here!"
But they consistently took the necessary risks. With beauty and bravery and humor, they
stood up onstage and sang and talked and laughed out loud about their lives and our lives.
Days I was unsure of myself and my place in the Big Picture, I could depend on their
participation in my well-being, and I did.
How the hell do you thank someone for years of participatory well-being? I feel, most of
all, the need to say "thanks." Thank you for the good times, for the bad hangovers, for the
hours of companionship, for the desperately needed validation of feelings and lifestyle, for the
atmosphere of acceptance, for the vision of courage and humor, for the unbearable excitement
of being in a roomful of unbearably excited women.
Thank you for supporting our causes, for being responsible and professional and
productive. Thank you for being big enough to foster other musicians, other artists, other
dreams.
Thank you for giving us role models and aspirations, hope and opportunity. Thank you for
giving us legitimate reasons to be proud and to be ourselves. Thank you for helping shape and
bond our community.
And thanks for the music. We are still listening.
-Pamela J. Cole
Pamela J. Cole is the Photo Editor o/Southem Voice and is a freelance photographer.
If We're Not Doing It,
It Must be Wrong
To the Editor:
The current discussions regarding who will
sit on the Police Advisory Committee and
how they will be chosen point out a,problem
that I have observed in our Gay/Lesbian
community for many years now. There is an
attitude among some members/groups in our
community that unless something is done the
way "I/We" want it done, that something is
not being done correctly. Essentially, that
attitude says that there is only one way to do
anything. Those who do not agree with that
one way are in error. That same attitude will
keep us from achieving those goals we seek
and will eventually destroy us as a
community.
I was brought up in the schools of
diplomacy and compromise. I learned long
ago that there is a productive way to make a
point and a non-productive way. Further, the
best final results come from the input of
multiple thoughts and ideas-whether we all
agree at the outset of the process or not
Diplomacy and compromise acknowledges
the fact that no one individual or group has
exclusive claim to the "correct" method of
doing anything.
The resistance of the Atlanta Gay Center
(AGC) to the method of choosing the
members of the Police Advisory Committee
seems to be the result of an "ours is the only
way" attitude. The method used to choose ten
of the members of the committee, i.e., the
GayCLU proposal, seems to me to have been
the result of the democratic process. The
twenty-two members of MACGLO present
at last month's meeting debated the issue and
voted on it A vote of twenty-one in favor
and one against represents a clear
democratically arrived at majority.
Presumably, that vote was the result of
diplomacy and compromise, and probably,
there were several viewpoints and ideas
expressed before the final decision.
I think it might be time to let the Advisory
Committee get on with its business-fo the
advantage of us all! It should be a signal to
the AGC that our community can speak
through MACGLO. Maybe it's even time for
the AGC to become a function of MACGLO
rather than a member.
Regardless of what happens now, it truly
is time to leam that no one individual or
group always has the one and only way to
accomplish something. There are quite
enough people outside the Gay/Lesbian
community chewing on us-we need to chew
back on them instead of chewing on each
other.
Yours truly,
Bruce Gamer
Gay Men's
Chorus Not Just
Whistlin' Dixie
Dear Duncan, a.k.a. Amethyst Pride:
Thank you for your letter of July 15
regarding our musical selections at the Pride
Rally. We appreciate all the comments of our
audience. I have discussed with the Chorus
Board the issues you raised and am glad to
respond to your concerns.
The Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus regrets that
our use of the Southern Medley at the Pride
Rally offended you. Our purpose was to
entertain, not to offend, and we are sorry that
you felt this way.
The Southern Medley was selected for the
Pride Rally for precisely the reasons you ■
suggest in your letter—the songs are peppy,
familiar, and somewhat entertaining. We
have performed it several times over the last
few years, including at the recent
Southeastern Conference, and received no
negative comments until we used it at the
Pride Rally.
The more basic issue, of course, concerns
the Chorus' sensitivity to the concerns of other
groups within Atlanta's very diverse gay
community. We do believe that we have a
responsibility to consider that diversity as we
plan our presentations. Our musical
selections will be scrutinized more closely in
the future for racist, sexist, or homophobic
connotations. We want every member of our
audience to leave our presentations proud,
happy and entertained.
But the same diversity which we celebrate
also presents a problem for the Atlanta Gay
Men’s Chorus. Even with an increased level
of sensitivity, the Chorus cannot guarantee
that everyone will always like everything we
sing. We will continue to plan programs
which are musically challenging to the
Chorus and provide entertainment and
inspiration to the audience. The scope of our
musical offerings is broad and we hope that
no one will dismiss the Chorus because of
one number.
Concerning membership, AGMC is open
to all male singers in the Atlanta area. The
Chorus has not had a membership drive of
any sort in recent years and is now actively
seeking new members in all male voice parts.
In our eight year history, we have never had a
significant number of black auditionees or
members, but we have always been open to
any talented singer. If you know of any
potential AGMC member,, please encourage
them to contact us. An audition can be
scheduled by calling 266-8002.
Finally, AGMC has recently made a new
commitment to be more fully involved in
Atlanta's gay community. Our presence at
the Pride Rally-our first appearance in two
years-is evidence of this new commitment
We appreciate your comments because it
shows you were listening.
Sincerely,
Rick Rechtin,Musical Director
Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus
cc: Southern Voice
Viewpoints is part of a continuing effort to provide a forum for our community.
We invite your ideas, comments and feelings and your responses to ideas expressed
in this space.
The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily
represent the views of Southern Voice. Submissions should be typed, double
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PO Box 54719
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
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